1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of small storage canisters for raw food articles. More particularly the present invention relates to the field of small airtight storage canisters for raw food articles.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Small storage canisters are often used in kitchens for storing raw food articles such as flour, sugar, granola and coffee beans. One important criteria for those canisters is whether it is airtight or not. Some raw food articles, such as coffee beans, are better stored under airtight conditions to preserve their preferred qualities including natural flavors, freshness, and sometimes even, dryness.
Airtight and non-airtight canisters are very different. Airtight canisters usually require a more complicated closure mechanism to ensure the airtightness. Although airtight canisters are made of many kinds of materials, including ceramic, wood, glass and acrylic, with numerous variations in their shapes and sizes, there are only a few different mechanical designs for the airtight closure means currently available on the market.
A typical covered canister comprises a container and a cover. The container and the cover are often made of the same material such as ceramic, wood, glass and acrylic. The container is usually cylindrical shaped with a closed bottom and an open top. For non-airtight canisters the cover is merely resting over the open top of the container. For airtight canisters, the cover cannot just rest on the open top of the container. One way to ensure the airtightness is to add a sealing gasket or washer between the cover and the open top of the container. Another way to ensure the air-tightness is to employ some kind of mechanical means to tightly attach the cover to the open top of the container.
Although there are many mechanical means available, the application of the small airtight canisters as normal housewares requires that the mechanical means be simple and easy to produce and operate. There are two common types of conventional airtight covering means commonly used for small housewares. One common type of conventional airtight canister utilizes various types of screw means for attaching the cover and the container. The disadvantage of this type of canister closure that it requires extra effort to operate the screw means. Another common type of conventional airtight canister closure mechanism comprises a wire around the cover and another wire around the open top of the container. The two wires are usually metal wires. At the front of the canister the two wires are attached by a leverage tab which also can be made of metal wires. At the rear of the canister the two wires are either hingeably attached by a hinged means or detachably attached by another leverage tab. The disadvantage of this type of conventional canister closure mechanism is that the leverage tabs are sometimes difficult to use, especially for those elderly people with less strength in their hands.
The following prior art patents are found to be relevant to the present invention:
1. U.S. Pat. No. 233,195 issued to Bradley on Oct. 12, 1980 for "Butter Package" (hereafter the "Bradley Patent").
2. U.S. Pat. No. 282,188 issued to Gilberds on Jul. 31, 1883 for "Fruit Jar" (hereafter the "First Gilberds Patent").
3. U.S. Pat. No. 328,115 issued to Gilberds on Oct. 13, 1885 for "Fruit Jar Cover" (hereafter the "Second Gilberds Patent").
4. U.S. Pat. No. 380,091 issued to Corey on Mar. 27, 1888 for "Jar or Bottle for Fruit, Milk &c." (hereafter the "Corey Patent").
5. U.S. Pat. No. 469,729 issued to Van Vleck on Mar. 1, 1892 for "Butter Jar" (hereafter the "Van Vleck Patent").
6. U.S. Pat. No. 578,389 issued to Challis on Mar. 9, 1897 for "Cooking Utensil" (hereafter the "Challis Patent").
7. U.S. Pat. No. 835,497 issued to Briggs on Nov. 13, 1906 for "Bottle Stopper Holding Device" (hereafter the "Briggs Patent").
8. U.S. Pat. No. 1,124,910 issued to Johnson et al. on Jan. 12, 1915 for "Electrical Heater" (hereafter the "Johnson Patent").
9. U.S. Pat. No. 1,452,558 issued to Jackson on Apr. 24, 1923 for "Cover for Food Receptacles" (hereafter the "Jackson Patent").
10. U.S. Pat. No. 1,483,953 issued to Rainey on Feb. 19, 1924 for "Cap for Liquid Receptacles" (hereafter the "Rainey Patent").
11. U.S. Pat. No. 1,486,336 issued to Heusser on Mar. 11, 1924 for "Milk Can Cover" (hereafter the "Heusser Patent").
12. U.S. Pat. No. 1,532,585 issued to Culver on Apr. 7, 1925 for "Fastening Device for jar Tops" (hereafter the "Culver Patent").
13. U.S. Pat. No. 1,712,140 issued to Flegenheimer on May 7, 1929 for "Display Lid for Containers" (hereafter the "Flegenheimer Patent").
14. U.S. Pat. No. 1,923,221 issued to Krause on Oct. 24, 1933 for "Coffee Container" (hereafter the "Krause Patent").
15. U.S. Pat. No. 2,643,044 issued to Sundholm on Jun. 23, 1953 for "Crease Gun Loading Pail Base for Grease Containers with Cutter and Interlock Means for Said Containers" (hereafter the "Sundholm Patent").
16. U.S. Pat. No. 3,236,402 issued to Dellinger on Feb. 22, 1966 for "Jar, and Closure and Handle Means Therefor" (hereafter the "Dellinger Patent").
17. U.S. Pat. No. 3,363,924 issued to Remig on Jan. 16, 1968 for "Releasable Tension Holder for Removable Receptacle Covers" (hereafter the "Remig Patent").
18. U.S. Pat. No. 3,491,914 issued to Elzey on Jan. 27, 1970 for "Expanded Plastic Container Having Rigid Internally Press-fit Cover" (hereafter the "Elzey Patent").
19. U.S. Pat. No. 3,503,535 issued to Sparks, Sr. on Mar. 31, 1970 for "Garbage Can Lid Anchoring Attachment" (hereafter the "Sparks Patent").
20. U.S. Pat. No. 3,746,205 issued to Helguera on Jul. 17, 1973 for "Thermic Pot" (hereafter the "Helguera Patent").
21. U.S. Pat. No. 3,817,563 issued to McGlothlin on Jun. 18, 1974 for "Can Top Lock" (hereafter the "McGlothlin Patent").
22. U.S. Pat. No. 4,196,487 issued to Merriman et al. on Apr. 8, 1980 for "Eyeglass Washer" (hereafter the "Merriman Patent").
23. U.S. Pat. No. 4,667,856 issued to Nelson on May 26, 1987 for "Dispenser for Attachment to Liquid Containers" (hereafter the "Nelson Patent").
The above-referenced prior art patents are generally related to retaining or locking means for container covers. Most of the prior art retaining or locking means utilize metal wires or wire frames. Some of them have utilized flexible or elastic cords.
The Remig Patent utilizes two small rings 26 for retaining the two small hooks 42 respectively. The two small rings are pivoted on the opposite sides of the container by respective bearing plates 24, which bearing plates themselves in turn must be mounted to the container. The Remig Patent container has to have these extra bearing plates and receiving rings. In addition, the Remig patent utilizes two separate cords with two respective hooks and a user has to release both hooks to open the cover. Furthermore, the two cords used in the Remig Patent are "loop bodies".
The Dellinger Patent discloses a container 10 and a cover 14 both made of ceramic material. The cover 14 of the Dellinger Patent is secured on the container 10 by a metal wire 20 attached to the container 10 and a metal wire 22 attached to the cover 14.
The Elzey Patent discloses a chest-type plastic container 1 having a rectangular shaped flat cover 8 which is made of acrylic material. The cover 8 is press-fit with the container 1.
The Krause Patent discloses a coffee container 10 having a circular channel 11 adjacent to its top opening. A resilient circular ring 13 is placed within the channel 11, so that when a cover 16 is placed on the container 10, the resilient circular ring 13 helps to create an airtight coverage. The Krause Patent cover 16 is fastened to the container 10 by two metal clips 20 and 27. Furthermore, the Krause Patent resilient circular ring 13 is attached to the container 10 but not the cover 16.
Recently there is a new design airtight canister with the trade name CLICK CLACK. It has two mechanical squeezable tabs in the center of a cover tightly fitted on a container which, when squeezed, reduces the diameter of the cover to therefore allow it to be removed from the container. This product is available only in acrylic. The drawback, however, is that for some kinds of raw food articles the canisters made of acrylic are not suitable. For example, acids in coffee beans can hurt the surface of acrylic containers. It is preferable to use traditional glass or ceramic containers which resist harsh materials in some raw food articles.